Shadow Over the Heavenly Throne-Chapter 61: Looks like it’s your turn now

Calista stood still.

Between her and Kaelis stood Veynessa — hands still raised after blocking the strike. Giant purple bruises spread across her forearms, darkening with every second. Her fingers trembled slightly, as if her muscles hadn’t fully regained control after absorbing such inhuman force. The stone beneath their feet was cracked, and the silence that fell over the arena was suffocating.

Calista’s gaze slowly moved, stopping on Veynessa. Her eyes shimmered with lifeless light — no emotion, no warmth, no hesitation. There was nothing personal in her stare. As if she wasn’t looking at a friend, but at an obstacle. Her pupils were motionless, frozen like a sheet of ice, and her jaw slightly tensed, as if it would take only a single word to break the silence.

"Step aside," she said, her tone so calm it was chilling.

Calista’s shoulders trembled in rhythmic jerks.

Her arms and legs were torn, with some patches of skin simply gone, exposing bloody muscle fibers and white bone. And yet Calista stood tall, as if none of it mattered. She didn’t glance at her wounds. She didn’t even blink.

Veynessa didn’t move. Her expression was tense — not with fear, but with a complicated weight. She clenched her fingers to suppress the trembling.

She looked at Kaelis, his body now a burnt-out wreck, then returned her gaze to her friend.

"He’s already been taught a lesson," she said softly, tension in her voice. "Look at him, Calista. This isn’t a fight anymore."

Silence. Only the echo of her words lingered in the air like a faint tremor.

Calista didn’t move a single inch. Her gaze still cut into Veynessa like a blade of ice.

Veynessa sighed — short, heavy, with a hint of concern in her eyes. She took a step. Then another. There was no caution in her movement, only the certainty of a bond forged by years of friendship. She walked like someone approaching a person they trusted beyond all doubt — not with fear, but with understanding. Their eyes met for a moment, but neither of them looked away.

She stopped right in front of her. Only inches separated their faces. Calista still looked like stone.

Veynessa leaned in and whispered something into Calista’s ear.

Calista froze.

Her eyes widened slightly.

"Are you serious?" she asked in a toneless voice.

Veynessa gave a small nod.

Calista looked at Kaelis. His body looked less like a man and more like a wreck — twisted, bloodied, mangled. Her fists clenched slowly, but with such strength that her cracked skin began to bleed even more, and the tension made the bones in her hands grind, as if her very body was trying to restrain her.

She gritted her teeth. Wrestling with something bubbling just beneath the surface. She breathed shallowly through her nose. She tried not to move, not to flinch, but the tension and fury betrayed her in every detail.

She looked back at Veynessa. Her friend’s eyes — warm and familiar. And though she didn’t want to, she couldn’t fully ignore them.

Again, her gaze returned to Kaelis. Long and heavy. As if she was making a decision that extended far beyond this moment.

Then she exhaled through her nose and sighed.

"You’re lucky today," she said coldly. "Make sure I never see you again."

She turned her gaze to Veynessa, who was looking at her with a faint smile.

"And on top of that, you still owe me a bath with Sylphia," Calista muttered.

Veynessa remained silent for a moment, her face caught between amusement, embarrassment, and exhaustion. She sighed through her nose, closed her eyes for a second, then looked back at Calista.

"I’ll try my best to convince her," she said with a soft, helpless smile.

Calista gave her a sharp, icy look.

Veynessa sighed again, tired.

"I’ll convince her."

Calista nodded, and for the first time, a shadow of her characteristic smirk touched her lips.

Then she deactivated Crimson Lotus.

All the tension left her body at once. Her muscles relaxed suddenly, as if someone had cut every thread holding her upright. Her mouth opened in a silent, desperate grimace, and her teeth trembled under the weight of pain. Her knees buckled beneath her, shaking as if they no longer belonged to her, and the air left her lungs in a harsh gasp.

And then she felt warmth — gentle, creeping under her skin like a whisper of light.

Warmth crawled under her skin like liquid light, spreading from the nape of her neck through her shoulders to her fingertips. Where the skin had been torn, the tissues began to pulse and close at unnatural speed, as if time had rewound a few minutes. Torn muscles stretched and regenerated in a rapid rhythm — as if invisible threads were stitching her from within. Internal cracks of realigned bones blended with a delicate, almost ethereal glow of energy dancing around her like fireflies. For a moment, she looked as if she was made of light.

She looked at Kaen.

"Calista wins," Kaen declared, his voice echoing across the arena with unwavering certainty. "She officially claims the slot in the formation."

And then her body vanished in a flash of light.

Veynessa stood still for a moment, staring at the spot where Calista had just been. The flash of light that had taken her slowly faded, and particles of energy drifted to the ground like glowing dust. The smile vanished from her face.

Her gaze dropped to Kaelis’s unmoving form. His body resembled a bloodied corpse.

Veynessa’s eyes narrowed as she saw the condition of her son — limp, covered in blood, face twisted in pain and injury. The air caught in her throat. She sighed deeply, nearly soundless, and a shadow of disappointment crossed her face as her eyes slid toward Kaen.

Kaen had no intention of healing him.

She sighed quietly, walked over to Kaelis, and knelt beside him. She touched his neck. His pulse was faint. Gently, she slipped a small, glowing pill into his mouth, then carefully lifted him as if he were made of glass.

With a mother’s tenderness, she approached Aldrich, who stood by the barrier, and handed him Kaelis’s body.

"Take care of him. As soon as the last fight ends, bring him to the medical hall."

The man looked at the boy’s condition, nodded solemnly, and said:

"Take care of yourself."

At his words, a faint shadow of a smile appeared on her lips, but something else already stirred in her eyes.

She only nodded lightly. Straightened her back, and her calm, heavy steps echoed on the stone as she moved forward.

Beside Sylphia, without a word and almost unnoticed, Aldrich appeared, carrying Kaelis in his arms — limp as a burned-out wreck. Sylphia looked at him and froze, staring at her brother with wide eyes.

She stepped back, as if his injuries physically pushed her. Her shoulders twitched involuntarily, and her hands clenched in helplessness. She stood in place for a moment, fighting a wave of nausea rising in her throat. Then she turned her gaze away sharply, as if looking hurt more than the wound. She didn’t want to remember his face — if it could still be called a face. And then something in her broke. This world... could truly be brutal.

Beside her, King Aldrich didn’t move. For a split second, he glanced at his daughter. But he said nothing. He just turned his eyes back to the arena.

Sylphia didn’t want to look at her brother anymore. She turned her gaze to the arena, where her mother stood — confident, upright, as if no storm could move her. Sylphia took a breath and called out:

"Mom! Show them all!"

Her voice trembled in her throat, but she didn’t back down.

Veynessa caught the shout and glanced sideways at her daughter. A tiny, almost invisible smile touched her lips.

***

Thalos, Maren, and Renald stood in silence. None of them said a word — their eyes fixed on the spot where Calista had just wrought destruction. Thalos had clenched fists, veins bulging on his arms. Maren stared at the ground, as if trying to bury his thoughts under stone. Renald swallowed and crossed his arms, outwardly calm.

In the air hung a heavy, silent conclusion: Calista... hadn’t been fighting them seriously.

They clenched their jaws. Something gnawed at them. How? How the hell had she made such a leap in just a few years? Their hands trembled from tension, unable to find an answer.

***

Calista appeared where the elders and former king Theron stood — their faces illuminated by a soft glow, with clear smiles on their lips.

"You did excellently, Calista," said Elder Fenthar with approval. "Congratulations."

"You surprised us all," added Elder Yllara, raising an eyebrow with clear amusement. "And very pleasantly."

"Your determination and talent are undeniable," added Elder Maerion, bowing his head slightly. "We’re glad you’re part of our family."

Calista nodded slightly, a subtle smile touching her lips.

"It’s an honor to be acknowledged by you," she said, her voice quiet but firm and deep.

Theron turned his gaze to the older woman standing to the side — Elder Yllara. A faint smile formed on his lips.

"Looks like it’s your turn now," he murmured. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Yllara looked down at the arena, where Veynessa now stood in focus. She was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"Time to remind the younger generation why I was once considered one of the greatest geniuses of our family," she said with a hint of amusement.

At that moment, her figure flickered and dissolved into the air. A second later, she appeared at the opposite end of the arena, facing Veynessa. She stood there slightly hunched, hands clasped behind her back, a slight smile on her lips as if she had just stepped out for a walk.

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